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Informist, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal heavily criticised the European Union's host of regulations, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, at the Berlin Global Dialogue in Germany Thursday, saying the regulations could make it harder for European businesses to compete and raise living costs for consumers. 

 

"Europe is shooting themselves in their own feet. More and more regulations, more and more restrictions on themselves. Closing their borders, something which actually helped them become a developed set of nations," Goyal said. "...they (EU) are trying to foist an artificial situation onto themselves, trying to create boundaries into Europe, trying to bring in absolutely ridiculous, at times, standards or levels of protections to safeguard certain sectors, steel being one of them and only hurting their own economy," he added.

 

His comments were in the context of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which effectively puts a carbon cost on certain imports into the bloc, and the EU Deforestation Regulation, which sets rules for products linked to deforestation. Brussels has also tightened restrictions on steel imports. Since Jul. 1, the bloc has formed a new system of tariff-rate quotas, limiting steel imports eligible for duty-free access to 18.3 million tonnes annually across covered product categories. Imports exceeding the applicable quotas face a 50% duty.

 

Goyal has, in the past as well, repeatedly criticised the EU's excessive regulation, saying that it is nearly impossible to fulfil the paperwork requirements to comply with these regulations. "Other countries will also bring more regulations, which will hurt your (EU) businesses. Cost of living will go up, inflation go high, business competitiveness will go down. You will not be able to complete in global market. Your auto industry is suffering that already. How will you be competitive in future?" he said.

 

Goyal said India has always looked to form a fair and equitable agreement with countries, adding that New Delhi is looking for trade partnerships across continents rather than choosing between the US and Europe, with negotiations also underway with Canada, Israel, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Mexico, the Southern African Customs Union, Mercosur and the Eurasian Economic Union.

 

The free trade agreement between the EU and India may come into force in the March quarter, he added. India and the EU concluded negotiations for the FTA, often described as the "mother of all deals" because of its scale, in January. The FTA is expected to be signed before the end of this year. India-EU total bilateral trade was worth nearly $139 billion in FY26. 

 

Goyal is on an official visit to Germany from Thursday to Saturday. Following this, he will visit the Netherlands from Saturday to Tuesday.  End

 

US$1 = INR 94.81

 

Reported by Pratiksha

Edited by Shubhayan Bhattacharya

 

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